Golden Heart
by S.A.M.Thedragongirl
Summary: Joey is a prince who is betrothed to Seto, btu when his servant make shim switch places, and Joey is reduced to being a Goose-Boy, is there hope for him? Puppyshiping and rated T for suggestive themes implied.


Once upon a time, there was queen who had handsome son named Joseph(He preferred Joey).  
He had sunlit blond hair, his skin was golden tanned from the rays of the sun's smile, and his eyes shined gold.  
All to match his golden heart. A true prince of the sun.

Joey was betrothed since birth to a prince in a far off kingdom named Seto.

And Seto was just as handsome, with hair of chestnut brown, skin of ivory and eyes of liquid cerulean blue.  
A prince of moon and ice to clash with Joey's sun and warmth.

But they knew each other quite well through the magic of their head court Magicians.  
The two also each had a stone nicknamed "Gossip Stones".  
Joey's was gold, while Seto's was blue, which they used to talk with one another.  
The stones also allowed them to see each other, but while Joey's stone showed him the prince and his surroundings quite clearly, Seto's stone malfunctioned in this regard. And no matter how hard the Magician tried to improve it, it didn't work.

And when Seto asked Joey to describe himself, the blond only replied in riddles. Seto's favorite was:

'Golden heart,

Golden heart,

'How will I know thee when I see thy face?' the will dragon ask,

Golden heart shall reply:

'Who has the eyes of the sun?

Who has the heart of pure kindness and laughter?

Who smiles even in the bleakness in the of famine of cruelty?'

The dragon says: 'I hope it is thou, who even though are miles away, shall be mine if he thinks me worthy.'

And Seto would ask, "Do you see me worthy?" And the stone would reply, only showing him a blurred and cloudy reflection of gold, "If you feel the same for me when I come to marry you. I think your very handsome."

Of coarse, their relationship wasn't always so nice.  
In fact, they fought like cats and dogs once almost every day!  
But the two got along in their own way, and they would enjoy the other's company when they needed someone to rant or talk to, maybe even cry.

Finally, when Joey turned 16, it was time for him to go to Seto's kingdom to marry him.

Now, Joey had a personal servant, named Yugi, who he was dear friends with, but he could not go with Joey for he grew ill and could not travel for many weeks. So in his stead, a young man named Duke was assigned to go with the golden prince.  
But Duke was evil, and greedy. He wanted the position Joey was getting, and saw great opportunity in this because of the malfunction in Seto's gossip stone.

Joey also had a dragon named Red Eyes Black Dragon who could speak and loved the prince dearly. Joey and Duke would ride the dragon to the kingdom, so it would be faster then going on either foot or horse back.

The queen sensed danger ahead, so she went to her room and shut the door. She then pricked herself till she bled, and let three drops of blood fall onto a handkerchief. She then gave it to Joey just before he left saying, "It may come of use..."

So the next day, Joey rode out with Duke to head to Seto's kingdom.  
But through out the two days that they rode on Red Eyes, it was hot, even with the ind that blew in their faces as Red Eyes flew.

So on the first day, they stopped at midday next to a river, letting the dragon drink his fill.  
Joey turned to Duke and asked, "Hey, Duke, could ya go get me some water from the river for me to drink?"  
But the said man only glared and smirked at him and said, "If you want a drink go get it yourself."  
Joey sighed and did just that.  
As he drank his fill he murmured, "Wonder why Duke is acting this way?" And he blinked in mild surprise when the three drops of blood his mother gave him said, "Your mother and sister would weep at your mistreatment."  
Red Eyes watched the conversation Duke and Joey had, staying silent but keeping it in his mind.

And the three companions flew off again. At night fall, they rested. And at day break, they set out again.  
Because it was so hot, Red Eyes had to rest at midday again, and once again drank from a large body of water.  
They Red Eyes could walk the rest of the way to the castle.

Joey asked Duke a again, "Would ya please go fetch em some water from the lake?" And Duke once again replied with a sneer, "If you want a drink so badly, get it yourself I am not going to be your little slave anymore." Joey blinked in confusion at the servant's words and went to get himself the drink.

But as he drank, he didn't notice that the handkerchief with the three drops of blood was dangling dangerously out of Joey's pocket. "What should I do with Duke? Why does he speak in a mean way?" Joey asked himself.  
"If your mother and sister saw this, they would weep at his mistreatment of you."

As Joey rose up and left to go back to the two companions, the handkerchief fell out of his pocket and was swept away by the river. Duke smirked when he saw this.  
That handkerchief with the queens blood had protected Joey, and even though the prince was a good fighter, Duke would make him do what he wished.

When Joey came near Red Eyes and went to climb onto his back, Duke grabbed him by his arms and wrestled Joey to the ground. Joey struggled and cried out in vain as Duke tied his hands together and pushed Joey's face against the stony ground, scraping the prince's face.  
"Now listen, Joey. You are going to take off your clothes and trade your apparel with mine. And you are to walk along side Red Eyes while I ride him into the castle. You are to be _my_ servant now. And if you tell a living soul about it, I'll make you regret it in _many_ ways."  
Duke hissed in Joey's ear, he licked his lips and his hands gently groped Joey's inner thighs and messaged them for emphasis, making Joey whimper and squirm. "No... Duke... why!?" Joey demanded, trying to get free of the stronger male.

"Because I want to marry the prince. I want the crown, the throne, everything." Joey growled and looked at his Gossip Stone. "Seto! Seto!" He called out desperately, but Duke slapped his face and pulled the stone away from the prince.

A voice with the hint of worry came from the golden stone, "Joey? Mutt? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"  
Duke gripped Joey's neck and whispered, "Say what I tell you to, or I'll kill you now." Joey shivered and nodded slowly. He then called in an almost shaky voice, "I-I'm fine Seto... I just... wanted to tell you, that I'm almost to the castle... I'll be there soon." A chuckle came from the stone.  
"Your such a dog. Begging for attention form his master over the silliest things."  
Joey growled. The threat forgotten in the heat of the moment.  
"Hey! I'm coming _all_ the way from my home ta meet ya finally, and _this_ is how your gonna treat me when I get there?"  
"That's right."  
"Grrr!!!"

Duke ruthlessly yanked Joey's hair, making him yelp. "Joey?" The blond moaned softly and said, "I-I have to go now... I'll see you when I get there..."  
Duke put the stone around his neck and glared at Joey again. "Now get undressed and give me your clothes after I take a bath." He told him.  
Joey did as told, and after Duke took a bath to rid himself of filth and made Joey rub mud and dirt into his hair and face to make him look horribly dirty, and no better then a slave, the two exchanged clothing.

Joey walked quickly along side Red Eyes, finding it hard to keep up with eh creature's long stride.

The drink of water he had before became useless as the heat of the day quickly parched his throat.  
Duke rode proudly on Red Eyes, smirking down at the boy until they came to the castle.  
Standing at the gate was Seto, Joey blushed as he thought how much more handsome the male was in person then in the stone, but lowered his eyes as Duke told him to do.

Duke slid off Red Eyes and walked over to Seto, who blinked. "So, Joey. This is what you look like. Form your riddles I imagined more gold to your appearance." Duke smiled. "If I had worn gold, I would've attracted all the thieves in the kingdom to me!"  
Joey rolled his eyes. 'He meant your looks, dummy.' He thought to himself as he and Red Eyes followed Duke and Seto into the court yard. "Your voice is different too, though." Duke laughed. "I guess your stone must have been malfunctioning in more ways then one." Seto blinked and frowned in suspicion. "Maybe your right. But it doesn't matter now. Come! I want you to meet my family!"  
Duke whispered in Joey's ear, "Stay here, and don't make trouble, slave." He smirked and walked away, holding Seto's arm.  
Joey felt mad, upset and hurt... he wanted to meet Seto's family so much, and now it was his servant who got the privilege while eh stood, bare footed in the sun.

Joey looked around till he found what little shade he could under the eastern wall. But the sun was still so high that it didn't do much good.

Meanwhile, inside Seto and "Joey" were talking, he glanced outside to see a boy with tanned skin and dirty hair sitting in the east side of the courtyard. "Joey? Who's that down there, your servant?" Duke held back a sneer. "Oh yeah. I forgot about him, give him something to do so he won't be idle all the time." Seto shrugged, "that can be arranged." He looked down at the boy again... he looked... familiar.

"Oh, Seto." The prince turned to "Joey". "I just thought of something, I need to go see Red Eyes for a bit. I'll come back in to get ready for dinner." Seto smirked. "Going to roll in the royal stables like a common dog are you?"  
'Joey' scoffed and walked away, making Seto blink.

'He always barks back at me... what's wrong with him?' Seto wondered.

Duke went out into the stables to see Red Eyes laying on a large bed of hay, he stood in front of it and smirked. "Well, Red Eyes. I think we both have business with one another." The dragon glared. "I suppose this will be about my master's humiliation." Duke shrugged, "You could call it that, or you could call it 'Learning humility'. But that is not important."  
The impostor sat down on a stool and glared at the Red eye'd beast.

"I'm going to tell you right now, that you can't kill me. Unless you want to die, and let your master for ever be a slave."  
Red Eyes glared, "What could you possibly-" The dragon froze, he stilled his breath when he saw Duke pull out a purple herb.  
"Dragon's Bane. Very effective, just breathing it's toxins makes a dragon sick." He hid it away again and Red Eyes breathed.

Red Eyes knew if it would help, he'd kill Duke right then and there, even with the dragon's bane. But if he died, he would not be able to explain the situation to the prince because he would be dead... and the heartache it would cause his master made Red Eyes feel guilty for even thinking he should kill Duke.

"What do you want?" Red Eyes hissed, already knowing what he would make him promise.

Duke smirked.

"You are to swear you will not tell a living thing about that mutt's predicament. Or I'll have you killed and give it to the boy on a silver platter, then I'll kill him, painfully and slowly. Understood?" Red eyes Glared and slowly nodded.  
Duke turned. "Alright. See you later, Scaly."

The next day, Joey was to help a boy named Malik attend the castle's geese. Malik's hair was a pale, sandy blond, and his eyes were violet. He and Joey got along fine with one another so that was good.  
As the two began herding the birds towards the castle gate and out to the fields, Joey looked at the stables, where Red Eyes laying next to it, taking in the sun's rays.

"Red Eyes... it's you who lays there." Joey murmured. Red Eyes opened it's gleaming orbs and said in a sad tone of voice to the prince-turned-servant. "If your mother the queen saw you in this manner, my prince, she would surely weep." He said, closing his eyes sadly. Joey smiled at the dragon and continued through the gate, helping Malik with the birds.

During they're exploration out in the fields, Joey stopped to rest. He sat down and pulled out a comb.  
He was wearing a green bandanna on his head, so most of his hair was covered. He pulled out the piece of cloth and began gently combing the golden locks that lay beneath. Malik watched him, as if he were under an enchantment, staring at Joey's golden hair as the boy began to sing his riddle in a gentle voice:

"Golden heart,

Golden heart,

'How will I know thee when I see thy face?' the will dragon ask,

Golden heart shall reply:

'Who has the eyes of the sun?

Who has the heart of pure kindness and laughter?

Who smiles even in the bleakness in the of famine of cruelty?'

The dragon says: 'I hope it is thou, who even though are miles away, shall be mine if he thinks me worthy.'"

Malik blinked when Joey finished the song, and hid his now smooth and combed hair underneath the dreaded bandanna.

The next morning it was the same for Joey, he would see Red Eyes waiting for him near the gate and he would say: "Red Eyes, it is you who are laying there." and the black dragon would reply: "If your mother the queen saw you in this manner, my prince, she would surely weep."  
And when Joey would be out in the field, he would sit down at one point, take out his bandanna, and comb his hair, singing his song while Malik watched him with a dazed and almost hungry look.

This continued for almost 2 weeks, in the mean time while Joey herded the geese and did other work in the palace on horrid days, Seto was becoming very sure that person he was to marry was NOT Joey.  
Or if he was, that Seto had been played for a fool through the stones.

This man who posed as Joey did nothing the way Joey would do it. He wasn't impulsive, he was ruder then ever, but he was also a snob to anyone beneath him, and he didn't even care about Red Eyes.  
And the Joey Seto knew, would go see him everyday!

As the wedding drew closer, eh confessed his doubts to his family.

The very same day, the younger prince, Mokuba, walked out to the stables to see a very grouchy Malik nursing a bruise on his head. "Malik? What happened to you?"

Malik growled. "It was the stupid Golden Eyed Goose-Boy, who comes with me to take care of the geese. Every day, he sits down at one poitn or another, pulls off his bandanna and begins combing his hair. He sings some song he made up, and I can't help but watch his beautiful hair as he brushed it.  
Today, I thought I could take a lock of it for myself, and I did, but not without battle scars." He said, nursing his head.

"And another thing, every time we head out towards the gate, Prince "Joey"'s Red Eyes will look at the Goose Boy and the boy will say: "Red Eyes, it is you who lay there." And the dragon replies: "If your mother the queen saw you in this manner, my prince, she would surely weep." Malik sighed and continued to rub his head, moaning a little.

Mokuba frowned in thought, thinking about what his brother said. He nodded and went to see Seto.

"Hey Seto, would you tel me the riddle Joey use to tell you when ever you asked about what he looks like?"  
Seto smiled at Mokuba and told him the riddle.

The next day, Mokuba snuck out and his behind the stable and watched as Malik and the Goose-Boy begna herding the geese out the gate. He watched as the Goose-Boy stopped and smiled sadly at Red Eyes Black Dragon. "Red Eyes, it's you who lays there." Red Eyes replied, "If your mother the queen saw you this way, my prince, she would surely weep."

And Mokuba followed the Goose-Boy and Malik out to the field, waiting till the golden eyes boy sat down.  
When he did, he pulled out his green bandanna and pulled out a comb.  
But before he did anything he glared lightly at Malik, who grinned like a mouth who'd just gotten the mouse.  
After the two exchanged looks, the Goose-Boy smiled and closed his ember eyes as he combed his hair, singing:

"Golden heart,

Golden heart,

'How will I know thee when I see thy face?' the will dragon ask,

Golden heart shall reply:

'Who has the eyes of the sun?

Who has the heart of pure kindness and laughter?

Who smiles even in the bleakness in the of famine of cruelty?'

The dragon says: 'I hope it is thou, who even though are miles away, shall be mine if he thinks me worthy.'"

When Mokuba heard the very same riddle Seto told him about, he grinned and went back tot he castle to tell his brother what he saw.  
When Seto heard it, he couldn't believe it. So he went out to the stables where the geese were kept and waited till they came back. When the Goose-Boy saw him, he became sad and lonely all over again, remembering and longing to talk to the Prince.  
When Seto walked over, his heart began to beat a hundred miles a minute.

"You have something you wish to tell me, Goose-Boy?" Seto asked in a kind voice. Joey swallowed and bowed his head in shame. "I wish I did, but I have vowed not to speak to a living soul about it. Or else, my best friend and I will die..."

Seto took the boy's hand. "I have an idea, come to the servant's kitchen."  
The servant's kitchen was actually a parlor for the servants to rest in when they had a break, no body was inside the parlor.  
Seto pointed to a iron stove resting next to the wall. "Talk about your troubles to that stove. I've locked the door so no one but I can get in until your done."

The Goose-Boy immediately sat down, and when he heard the door close, he began to cry softly, thinking Seto had left, and was not listening.  
But Seto sat outside next to the chimney that the stove's smoke came out from, and listened to the boy's sorrows.

Joey told the stove everything. About how Duke threatened to rape and kill him if he did not exchange clothing with him, and how he has become nothing but a servant. "I would not be as miserably and as complaining as this... if it weren't for my heart's ache... I wanna be with, and talk to Seto so much more, like I had done in the past. But I was a prince then. Why would he even think me worthy of talking to, much less looking at... Now my heart aches all over again when I saw Seto's handsome face, and heard his voice. Why now? What is 'e trying ta do? Cause me sorrow? Did Duke put 'im up to it?" He asked the stove, sobbing a little.

Then he jumped when the door opened and a voice recited the riddle:

"Golden heart,

Golden heart,

'How will I know thee when I see thy face?' the will dragon ask,

Golden heart shall reply:

'Who has the eyes of the sun?

Who has the heart of pure kindness and laughter?

Who smiles even in the bleakness in the of famine of cruelty?'

The dragon says: 'I hope it is thou, who even though are miles away, shall be mine if he thinks me worthy.'"

Joey's tears rolled even more as Seto looked at him sadly and shook his head. "You are worthy of the greatest gifts... but I should be the one who has been turned into a servant. I am not worthy of you... for letting Duke trick me into thinking you were not my beautiful Golden Heart." Joey sobbed and ran to Seto, hugging the prince.

"Am I ugly, Seto? Now that you've seen me in my worst? When I am crying, feeling sorry for myself over things like this?"  
Seto smiled and wrapped his own arms around the boy, whispering. "No, my Golden Heart. No... this is not the famine in the riddle, and you have a right to cry... but let's stop them now. You've cried enough. Form here on, I want you to be the best you can, and we will put Duke to rights."

Joey was washed, dressed and made to look his finest. Seto did the same, and at the banquet that evening, Joey was so handsome, if not beautiful, and splendidly kind to everyone, including Duke, that the Impostor did not recognize the blond.  
Seto and Joey had discussed Duke's punishment earlier that night.

When Joey had only asked Seto to give him a small punishment and send him back home, Seto refused. He told Joey, "Duke needs to feel his own poison go down his throat. Tonight, I'll ask him what I shall do about an impostor who is trying to steal my throne. I shall put my words in such a way that he doesn't think I'm asking about him." Joey finally agreed to this, but dreaded what Duke would condemn himself to.

So after the dinner was done, Seto asked. "Joey, my love. I have a question for you. If an Impostor tried to take our throne, what do you think the punishment should be?" 'Joey' Smirked and said, "I think, my lord, that he would be stripped naked, and placed in a barrel filled with nails, and be drug down the street by two horses till they are dead."

Seto's smile turned into a cruel smirk. "So shall it be done." Duke blinked and cried out in surprise when two guards grabbed his arms. "My love, what is the meaning of this?!" Seto glared. "You are not my love. And the meaning of this, is quite simple."  
Joey stood and looked at Duke. "I am Joey. And I have told Seto everything you have done." Duke looked ready to commit murder. Seto also stood. "You have named your own sentence. Take him away!"

Late that night, Joey lay in Seto's arms in the prince's bed. "Do you forgive me for the mistreatment I let you go through."  
Seto asked his golden eyed lover. "Yes... you didn't know... It's not your fault. After all, I was too dirty for you to see anything golden about me... and I was a servant." Seto smiled, and kissed Joey tenderly.  
"Never again. I shall always love you, and make sure you are given whatever you deserve."

Joey smiled and yawned. "I'm so tired."  
Seto smirked.  
"From just that? I thought being a servant for a while would build up your stamina, I guess Dogs like you can't learn new tricks."  
"Hey! Are you saying I'm old!?"  
"No, I'm saying your a fool. A Fool can't be cured until he's dead."  
"Why you little...!"  
"Little? Your the one whose a lap dog."  
"Lap dog?!"

Duke's punishment was held at dawn, and everyone who could bare to, watched it. Joey did not.

Joey and Seto were married two weeks later, and had many children in the years they reigned as king and queen.  
Malik was given Duke's old job as Joey's personal servant. He kept the lock of hair he stole in a speacial bag he wore around his neck. Him and Joey became good friends.

And everyday, Joey would go out and talk to Red Eyes, sometimes with Seto too.

And, as usual, they all lived happily ever after.


End file.
